In like a lion, out like a lion - March tied for 8th coldest on record

Photographs by MOLLY BARTELS / Courier &amp; Press
Jonah Daley, 4, keeps an eye on his sisters from his perch at the Kids Kingdom play area in Sunset Park in Evansville on Monday. “We’re on spring break up in Indy. It’s quite a bit warmer down here,” said Daley’s father, Michael, not pictured. After weeks of cool weather, the Tri-State will see temperatures in the 50s and 60s this week.

Evelyn Daley, 2, enjoys the Kids Kingdom play area in Sunset Park in Evansville Monday. “We’re on spring break up in Indy. It’s quite a bit warmer down here,” said Daley’s father, Michael, not pictured. After weeks of cool weather, the Tri-State will see temperatures in the 50s and 60s this week.

“I just wanted to get out and enjoy this beautiful weather,” said Bethany Hacker, who swings with her newly adopted dog, Hali, at the Kids Kingdom play area in Sunset Park.

EVANSVILLE - March 2013 pretty much punted its traditional role of bringing warmer weather to the Tri-State after a long winter.

According to the National Weather Service, the temperature exceeded 60 degrees on only five days during the month, and four of those were during the first 16 days of the month That performance tied the month for the eighth-coldest March on record, according to the weather service whose records date back to 1896.

And, at least at the start, April isn't up to the task either. After a weekend of some seasonably appropriate conditions to finish out March — including a 64-degree high on Sunday — Mother Nature decided that the taste of spring was just a cruel joke, though a warm-up is expected to be on its way later this week.

After starting at a near normal low of 39 degrees Monday, the mercury struggled to reach a high of 53 degrees, which was recorded at noon at Evansville Regional Airport.

Today's high temperature isn't expected to reach even the 50 degree-mark, according to the National Weather Service forecast. That is more than 10 degrees below normal, and once again the low is expected to dip into the mid-20s, about 15 degrees below normal. In fact, if the mercury does indeed plunge to the expected low, it would be close to a record for April 2.

The good news for those looking for warmer weather is that temperatures are expected to gradually increase through the weekend. According to the weather service the temperatures could even hit the 70-degree mark on Sunday, which, if reached, would be the warmest day of the year.

Just how cold was it last month? Only one daily temperature record was tied — the chilly 21 degrees that was recorded on March 21. But the month featured 20 days when the temperate fell below the freezing mark, which is about seven days more than normal, according to the weather service. The average low temperature last month was about 31 degrees.

In addition, a colder daily high temperature was recorded on March 25 (36 degrees) than on March 1 (38 degrees). Normally, March 25 is about nine degrees warmer than the first of the month, according to weather service statistics. The 36-degree high for that day was almost 25 degrees below normal.

The coldest March ever on record was the 30.2 degrees average overall temperature recorded in 1960. Last month's overall average temperature of almost 40 degrees easily eclipsed that.

But, to many residents, this year probably felt even colder, considering last year March was the warmest ever on record. March 2012, featured an average high throughout the month of more than 71 degrees, a mark that this past month failed to reach even once.